I think LGBTQIA+ people and our allies have arrived in a multiplicity of places after the recent General Synod meeting when a motion presented by the Bishop of London on behalf of the House of Bishops was passed by a narrow majority. For me, the transgressive, visionary, prophetic, deeply Christian future is already present, although not much in evidence at Synod, where opposition to such a future is able to block any proposal that is truly prophetic.
Complex varieties of development are taking place in contemporary Christianity at the moment and not least in the Church of England. It’s easy to feel pessimistic about the possibilities of radical change but in reality everything conservative evangelicals and catholics decry and are shocked by is happening right now – equal marriage, lesbian and gay lay people and priests marrying, gay couples having sex. The only things not allowed is that gay couples can get married in church and have our relationships formally accepted and blessed, free from prejudice – that’s all!
Wasn’t Jesus a transgressive preacher and teacher, a visionary prophet? Wasn’t that part of the reason he was put to death? Or did he die because I am unapologetically gay and I’ve been sexually active and partnered? Is God so shocked by this that his Son had to be sacrificed? Is God’s disgust at same-sex sex the reason why the Church is so homophobic that conservatives are arguing to be given a protected space, an exclusive enclave in the C of E uncontaminated by gays and our disgusting habits, falling in love and desiring to kiss one another? Is this why a significant number of Provinces in the Anglican Communion pursue schism?
The view from the gallery
Watching Synod from the public gallery at Church House can be an unpleasant experience. The seats are really uncomfortable and the hostile attitude of those around me was equally uncomfortable. Synod expects us all to somehow find a “Christian” harmony with each other. There were four or five young men sitting to my right on Tuesday wearing tops that proclaimed something like “I used to be gay but now ..” – I couldn’t quite read the rest of the slogan. On Wednesday as the coffee break was announced five or six young men to my right stood in turn and started shouting anti-gay slogans from the gallery. The homophobia of these two groups had been smuggled into Synod despite the prohibition of bags and coats in the gallery and the metal detector arch we were required to walk though. It was possible to map the location of conservative and progressive members of Synod, both on the floor and in the gallery by the way each group vigorously clapped speeches they approved of. I was moved to applaud sometimes, wondering what it was I was supporting.
From the public gallery Synod looked like a House divided against itself, despite the protestations of friendship and mutuality that we Anglicans are supposed to share because we are “nice” people, all followers of Jesus despite our gender and sexuality.
Monday in Synod
On Monday afternoon, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, introduced at some length a session in which “Synod members will be invited to engage informally with Living in Love and Faith.” Bishop Sarah talked about the concept of uncertainty and said our knowledge is always provisional. She said what the bishops were proposing was not a change in doctrine but a new insight into the unchanged doctrine or marriage. It is not contrary to the Church of England doctrine about sexual relationships. Conservatives will think this is a dishonest sleight of hand move. It is, she said, a move to far for some, not far enough for others, but a move that will help us inhabit this space as best we can. All of us are here, in this painful place, by grace. This supposedly informal session turned out to be a session in which four more bishops, Worcester, Guildford, Southwark and Winchester had been programmed to speak at some length, leaving very little time for Synod members to engage.
The Synod debate
Moving the motion at the beginning of the debate, Bishop Sarah said God is in this place. I believed her, partly because of what she said and had said the day before. I have come to believe that the majority of bishops genuinely have come to a better understanding, a greater level of courage and a real commitment to achieve the radical development of Christian life and practice Changing Attitude has advocated for over nearly three decades.
Looking down from the public gallery in Church House, and having endured in the course of three mornings and three afternoons the over-the-top security arrangements now present at every Synod, I was not feeling God in this place, or if I was then I was feeling a God with multiple, irreconcilable personalities and identities. I was most certainly not feeling the presence of the God I had known intuitively from my early years of Christian life. I’ve written about this before. It was like a bear pit, viewed from above. Members of Synod repeatedly expressed disgusting, homophobic prejudice using abusive language and attitudes. The compassion, truth, courage, openness and wisdom of LGBTQIA+ members of Synod and our allies was contaminated by those arguing for a so-called Biblical, traditional, orthodox version of faith in God and Jesus’ manifestation of divine being.
Each tabled amendment was taken in turn by its proposer. The Bishop of London mostly opposed each amendment. Over 25 members of Synod stood each time, wanting debate to take place. The chair called pairs to speak, one supporting, one opposing, two or more pairs each time. The chair proposed asked Synod if they wished to close the debate – and they did, every time. Every time a point of order was raised calling for a vote by houses. Every time this was agreed. Every time instructions were read out, the vote taken and announced. Conservative tactics were clearly to delay or negate progress. This went on for seven hours.
The original motion with a minor amendment said that Synod recognises the progress made by the House of Bishops, is conscious that the Church is not of one mind on the issues raised by Living in Love and Faith, that we are in a period of uncertainty, and that many in the Church on all sides are being deeply hurt at this time and encouraged the House of Bishops to continue its work of implementation. It didn’t ask the House to of Bishops to do anything substantive.
The amended motion
An amendment tabled by the bishop of Oxford was passed by a majority of just one vote in the House of Laity. The amendment asked the Bishops to consider whether some standalone services for same-sex couples could be made available for use, possibly on a trial basis, on the timescale envisaged by the motion passed by the Synod in February 2023. This at least asks the House to do something.
The final amended motion was voted on by Houses:
Bishops: For 23, Against 10, Abstentions 4
Clergy: For 100, Against 93, Abstentions 1
Laity: For 104, Against 100, Abstentions 0
What has been achieved?
The House of Bishops alone voted by a 2/3rd majority on each amendment and the final amended motion. The Bishops alone are our allies in pursuing change in the Church that could lead to the radical new Christian inclusion once imagined by Archbishops. The Clergy and Laity proved themselves to be untrustworthy upholders of the vision - a church transformed by radical new Christian inclusion.
If (and on past form it’s a big if) the House of Bishops agrees that some standalone services for same-sex couples can be made available, possibly on a trial basis (the motion only asks them to consider this) then, so long as the progressive bishops hold their nerve) the changes we seek could begin to be implemented. I sense that continuing progress is going to depend entirely on the courage of progressive bishops. I also sense that they are growing in confidence and I hope the message sent by the Synod votes, however narrow the margins, will empower them to act.
To achieve equal marriage will require a change to the Marriage Canon and this will require a 2/3 majority vote in each House of Synod. Before the November Synod, this looked impossible to achieve. It still looks impossible to achieve, but part of the logjam has been broken and it’s not impossible that further sections will be dismantled in the coming months and years.
The Church of England, divided as intensely over whether same-sex couples can marry, have sex, and be accepted by God as it was (and still is) divided over the ordination of women as priests and bishops is building a theology, life, practice and interpretation of the Bible and God’s attitude to sexuality and gender that doesn’t exist any longer in secular Western culture. For conservatives this is proof that their understanding of God is right. Without God sinners are lost – and all gay people who enjoy sex are lost anyway – and so are heterosexuals who dare to have sex before marriage or dare to remarry after divorce – such a lot of sinners, welcomed and valued in so many congregations, and NOT as sinners.
We live in a culture where prejudice, fundamentalism, abuse, and discrimination, although still prevalent, are less and less acceptable or tolerated as healthy attitudes towards other members of the human race. It becomes more and more difficult for people to maintain their commitment to and involvement with an institution, a Church, that continues to be so ambivalent about justice and equality for every member of the human race, a Church that is still so hostile to me and people like me, to my LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters, people with integrity and faith and a deep spirituality regardless of their gender or sexuality or who they sleep with and make love to. For me, this continues to be extremely bad for my psychological, emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health.
So where have we arrived?
One place we have arrived is a remarkable coalition of seventeen progressive, inclusive groups seeking greater inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the Church of England and urgency in the move to accepting equal marriage in church. These groups seek honesty, integrity and diversity in the Church and an open table from which none are excluded. This is real progress.